HDSB students take part in salmon restoration project

Halton District School Board students observed the salmon life cycle firsthand through the Classroom Hatchery component of the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program, also known as Bring Back the Salmon.

Through this program, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), together with many other partners, are working to bring Atlantic Salmon back to Lake Ontario where they once thrived until the late 19th century.

The project began in February when salmon eggs arrived at the HDSB Environmental Leadership Learning Centre located at Alexander’s PS. Students monitored the eggs as they developed into alevin and later fry, observing each stage of the salmon life cycle and learning about local ecosystems before participating in the release of the young fish into Bronte Creek in May.

While HDSB schools have participated in the Bring Back the Salmon initiative for several years, this year’s learning was expanded through collaboration with Michizaagiig Inherent Rights Holders.

By recognizing the importance of salmon to the First Peoples of this area and acknowledging the historical impacts on salmon populations and involving Inherent Rights Holders as part of the process, this year’s initiative was intentionally connected to reconciliation. 

As part of the learning, students were introduced to rights affirmed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), including the rights of Indigenous Peoples to maintain and strengthen their relationships with traditionally used lands and waters, protect the environment and participate in decision-making affecting lands and resources.

As students observed the salmon grow from eggs to fry, they also learned how historical land-use changes, including deforestation, pollution, the damming of rivers and how unsustainable fishing practices contributed to the disappearance of Atlantic salmon from Lake Ontario in the 19th century.

The project gave students a unique opportunity to connect classroom learning with local environmental leadership while developing a deeper understanding of the connection between healthy ecosystems, Indigenous rights, community relationships and reconciliation.

“The power of the classroom hatchery is these kids growing their fish and learning about this history and gaining connection, gaining belonging and realizing that we're not a separate world. It's not the human world and the non-human world — we're all part of it,” said Ben Teskey, co-ordinator of the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program.

The learning experience culminated on May 21 when Grade 6 students from Alton Village PS joined Nature's NEAR students, with OFAH coordinators and HDSB staff to release the fry into Bronte Creek. Nature's NEAR is an HDSB Experiential Outdoor and Environmental Education Initiative focused on deepening students' connection with their local environment.

The project connects to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals including Life Below Water (#14), Quality Education (#4), Life on Land (#15) and Partnership for the Goals (SDG #17).

By participating in the project, students engaged with several commitments in the HDSB Multi-Year Strategic Plan, including Indigenous Rights and Education, Environmental and Global Citizenship, Learning, Engagement and Achievement, and Kindness, Connection and Community.

Teskey hopes students leave the experience with a lasting sense of responsibility for the world around them.

“We want kids to walk away feeling inspired to leave places better than they found them,” he said. “Whether that's planting trees, releasing fish, picking up garbage or helping in their community, it's bigger than the fish. There is so much more to it.”